(left to right) President Mordechai Rozanski, Wilda Bleakley, Dr. Robbie Sethi, Dr. Frank Elliott and Debbie Stasolla

Wilda Bleakley, executive assistant in the Dean of Students office onthe Lawrenceville campus; Dr. Robbie Sethi, professor of English; and Debbie Stasolla, associate vice president for planning, received the 2007 Frank N. Elliott Award for Distinguished Service during the faculty and staff convocation on August 30.

Dr. Frank Elliott, president emeritus, joined President Mordechai Rozanski in presenting the citations and plaques to each of this year’s recipients. The award, endowed by the Board of Trustees, honors Elliott, Rider’s fourth president, who retired in 1990.

Soon after joining Rider’s Office of Student Affairs in 1998, Wilda Bleakley became an indispensable member of the Student Affairs team. Larry Johnson, former associate dean of students on the Lawrenceville campus and her supervisor at that time, recalls that Bleakley quickly learned the fundamentals of her job and took it upon herself to understand the critical components of his job so that as a team, they were able to keep abreast of issues in his area.

These attributes earned Bleakley significantly more complex responsibilities, and ultimately led to her current position as the executive assistant to the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Tony Campbell. Bleakley is known on campus as a person who can find the answers to seemingly unanswerable questions. Dean Campbell maintains that if he did not know better, he would have thought that Bleakley was the inspiration for the seemingly telepathic character, Radar O’Reilly on the old television show, M*A*S*H*. There have been many occasions when Wilda would be asked to do something, only to respond, “It’s already done.”

Also known as a problem-solver extraordinaire, Bleakley has extensive knowledge of campus policies and procedures, especially due to her familiarity with Colleague, the student database. She has been instrumental in training many support staff in the Dean of Students’ office in the use of Colleague and has taken the initiative to figure out better ways of approaching database problems and questions.

Bleakley is also considered to be the point person for any and all student concerns. No matter how busy she is, she never hesitates to make herself available to offer compassion and support to a troubled student, concerned parent or anxious co-worker. As one who gives her “all” to every aspect of her job, she takes extra effort to make everyone feel special. In her spare time, she is busy raising three children, one who is currently in high school, one current Rider student and one recent Rider graduate.

Dr. Robbie Sethi received her bachelor’s degree in English and Slavic languages and literatures from Indiana University, as well as a master’s degree and Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of California at Berkeley. She began teaching at Rider in 1981 as an adjunct instructor and became an assistant professor of English in 1986. She was promoted to associate professor in 1991 and professor in 1997.

Committed to empowering her students through the workshop method of teaching writing, Sethi teaches courses in creative writing, contemporary American and Russian literature, advanced prose writing, and black and multi-ethnic literature. Her classes are conducted discussion-style rather than as lectures. Sethi’s commitment to teaching was recognized in 2002 when she received Rider’s prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award.

Sethi is also a novelist. She has published two novels, The Bride Wore Red and Fifty-Fifty, and her short stories have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Mademoiselle, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and literary magazines and anthologies. She has been awarded fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment of the Arts. Sethi also directs Rider’s annual high school writing contest. As fiction editor for The Kelsey Review, she has provided Rider students with opportunities for off-campus writing and publication.

Sethi has exhibited service leadership in numerous ways. She served as chair of the English department from 2000 to 2004, as chair of the Student Life Strategic Planning Task Force and as a member of the Strategic Planning Coordinating Committee. She currently serves on the Freshman Year Experience Task Force. She also was co-chair of Rider’s Middle States accreditation process. According to Associate Vice President for Planning Deborah Stasolla, “Robbie was instrumental in the entire effort. Her ability to envision the ‘big picture’ from a University perspective was key to making the process a success.” Dedicated to students, she serves as a mentor to the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams and continues to instruct and advise students in the University Studies learning community.

Debbie Stasolla earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from Adelphi University before taking on the role of director of Development Information and Communications at Rider in 1988, a position she held for four years. After earning her M.B.A. from Rider in 1991, she left to pursue other opportunities, but returned to Rider and in 1999 became the assistant to former President Bart Luedeke. By 2002, she was promoted to associate vice president for planning, with the added responsibility of liaison to the Board of Trustees.

Stasolla has led a number of initiatives that have fostered the strategic advancement of Rider University. Two of her most enduring and invaluable contributions were her recent leadership of the strategic planning process and Middle States reaccreditation. Her inclusive style, effective writing, organizational skills and the depth of knowledge of and commitment to Rider were critical to the success of these projects.

Most recently, Stasolla served as vice chair of the Presidential Task Force on Alcohol, Personal Responsibility and Student Life, and as chair of its Task Force sub-committee on Greek Life issues. She has worked with Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Steven and other members of the campus community to coordinate the implementation of recommendations for this fall. Stasolla is also responsible on a day-to-day basis for Rider athletics.

Getting to know students is one of Stasolla’s top priorities. She serves as a mentor and adviser to the Ultimate Frisbee team and instructs and advises students as part of the Freshman Seminar program. Stasolla balances her Rider efforts with her family commitments in a way that is equally impressive. She is a creative partner with husband, Steve, in home schooling their son, Cord. According to President Rozanski, “She has a remarkable can-do attitude, unfailing good judgment, and an inspired commitment to volunteerism and leadership when a University need is identified.”

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